Materials employed in the preparation of equipment used in cellular telecommunications, laminate-based chip carriers, and the like, must meet a number of physical performance criteria (e.g., good heat resistance, good dimensional stability, low density, good adhesion to substrate(s), toughness, and the like), and electrical performance criteria (e.g., low loss, low dielectric constant, and the like).
A variety of materials have been employed in the art for the preparation of the components used for the assembly of such equipment, such as, for example, maleimide-based resins.
Maleimide-based resins are thermosettable resins that have been widely used in the preparation of composite materials. Such materials, however, frequently have less than desirable handling properties due to the high melting points thereof, and the brittleness of the resulting resins prepared therefrom.
In view of the high demand and widespread use of such materials, in addition to meeting the above-described physical and electrical performance properties, it is further desirable that such materials can be prepared from relatively inexpensive starting materials employing readily scalable, low cost processes. The present invention addresses these and other needs as described in greater detail herein.